Western Bean Cutworm

Trap counts are still quite high this week in Ontario which indicates that peak flight hasn’t plateaued yet. So there is likely still lots of egg laying happening. Moths will prefer to lay eggs in later planted corn that is still in pre to early tassel stages or will find dry bean fields nearby. Just because a trap is catching…

A few tweets, text messages and reports from our scouts have indicated that WBC egg masses are being found in corn this week. The next two to three weeks are key for scouting and managing WBC for the bulk of the corn crop. Though the typical hot spots (eg. Bothwell area) are more prone to significant populations, last year taught…

Author: Jen Bruggeman, Research Assistant, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus Western Bean Cutworm traps have been up in Ontario for approximately 5 weeks, with nil to low catches being reported until now. Just this week we have started to see an increase in moth captures, due to our resident population starting to emerge from the soil and due to the…

Author: Jocelyn Smith, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus “Check your fields for WBC and ear rots now and consider harvesting early to stop mould growth. Adjust your combine to discard lightweight mouldy kernels and dry mouldy corn as soon as possible.” If you had trouble finding Western bean cutworm (WBC) egg masses when scouting back in late July and early…

Either our own resident WBC populations did fine over the winter or the recent storm fronts brought in the bunch of moths from the US or a combination of the two. But reports are coming in that fields between Thamesville and Bothwell and near Rodney have reached threshold, well, sort of. What is messing up everyone’s ability to determine which…

Author: Jocelyn Smith, University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus Growers in the high WBC risk areas (sandy soils) saw heavy infestations of WBC in 2013 and many were surprised by the survival and amount of damage by WBC on Bt corn. Bt corn hybrids that express the Cry 1F insecticidal protein such as the Herculex® and Genuity® products are expected to…

Author: Jocelyn Smith, Research Associate, Field Crop Pest Management University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus It appears that in 2013, southwestern Ontario’s hotspot areas for Western bean cutworm (WBC) (large area around Bothwell and Tilsonburg) have a significant problem in their corn fields. OMAF and MRA and University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus staff have completed surveys of fields in these risk…

Soybean aphids – Eastern Ontario and the thumb of Michigan have been battling soybean aphids for some time now. This is ideal weather for them so I expect to start to see fields in SW ON noticing populations climb. That said, I have not given up on the natural enemies. I just want everyone to be on watch and take…

My crew is finding many corn fields at threshold levels of western bean cutworm (WBC) in the “high risk areas” of Bothwell and Tillsonburg. We have learned over the last few years that Bothwell and areas around Tillsonburg in particular (higher sandy soil areas) are prone to high levels of WBC infestations. Other areas of Southern Ontario might also reach…

Although we are missing some data from a few trap locations it appears as if most of the province has experienced peak flight for WBC. We hit peak flight earlier this year then in previous years but this consistent with what we have seen with other Lepidoptera pests this year. Counties with an asterisk “*” indicates small trap catches or…

Peak flight is a bit difficult to pin point this week because there is some data missing from our week 10 trap reports however, we have received some missing data from previous weeks so I can provide information on peak flights for some counties and possible peak flights for others. Some areas are still experiencing increasing numbers and will likely…

Our WBC trapping network has been catching relatively few moths over the past weeks but last week some higher numbers were reported. These numbers are still a bit behind what I would have expected considering the warmer weather but the trend is towards increasing numbers. Just last week the scouts were finding quite a few WBC egg masses on corn…

The weather is certainly warming up and it looks like the forecast is for more of the same. Things are getting busy and I’ve got a few things to talk about this week. The first is the start of the Western Bean Cutworm Trapping network. Traps should be set up this week and the data should start coming in soon. …

As we gear up for the 2012 season we are again looking for participants in the Western Bean Cutworm Trap Network monitoring program. Of particular need is to have more traps in Elgin and Haldimand/Norfolk County. Information on the trap network can be found on the Canadian Corn Pest Coalition website. If you would like to participate e-mail wbctrapnetwork@gmail.com or contact Tom…

It’s time to get out and scout for WBC damage in dry beans. Based on trap counts we are now confident that some counties experienced peak flight the last week of July and others the first week of August. Though I will admit that some trap sites are still catching lots of moths, especially the bean trap sites. And the…

“Field Crop News” is an archive of information dedicated to the production of over 8.5 million acres of field crops in Ontario and a forum for which producers, researchers and industry personnel can share information and ideas. The crop technology team with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), faculty at the University of Guelph and Ontario field crop producers continually work together to find ways to improve field crop production. The key learning and outcomes from these collaborations are captured at “Field Crop News”.